*next Saturday*
Dani was up early. They had to get moving if they were going to make it on time to pick up Jax from the prison. The rest of the guys were going to hang with the kids until they got back. Dani was worn out but she was ready to go. The only kid going with her was Sofia. She had to feed her so leaving her with the guys was not an option. She loaded her daughter up in the van while her husband hopped on his bike. They headed out for the prison. It still didn't seem real until she saw Jax walking toward her van. Happy was parked down the road a little ways so they didn't know he was with her. She didn't get out of the van which had been her husband's only request about her doing this. Jax got in the passenger seat. Dani pulled out of the drive and headed toward the spot Happy had parked.
"You look awful," Dani said to Jax.
"They definitely tried to break me in there," he said.
"How's the injury?"
"It'll be all right. Just gotta give it time to heal."
She nodded. They headed for the highway. Jax glanced in the back seat.
"That the new one?" he asked.
"Sofia," Dani answered.
Jax leaned across the seat to get a look at the baby. They made it back to the house without incident. Dani pulled into the driveway. Jax got out and looked around. Happy got off the bike and walked over to the van. He took his daughter's seat out of the back and the three of them walked in the house with the baby. The boys were goofing around in the living room. Abel looked up first. He stopped dead and stared at them. It took him a minute to figure out who the guy was standing in the doorway.
"Daddy," he yelled and jumped up.
He ran over to Jax and threw his arms around his legs. Jax reached down and picked him up. He hugged him tightly. Thomas stayed where he was, just staring at his dad and brother. Donavan got up to hug his Uncle Jax but Dominic stayed where he was. Jax moved a step closer to Thomas, who turned and climbed into Tig's lap. Jax shook his head. Tig stood up with him.
"Thomas, that's daddy," Tig said.
Thomas stared at Jax for a minute. It took a few minutes to register before he leaned toward Jax and let his dad take him. He snuggled into Jax.
"Welcome home brother," Tig said.
"Thanks," Jax grinned.
The boys were excited to have Jax home. Dani had a lot to help him out with before he could get his own place so the parole officer would stay off his case. They were just glad that he was at home now which was the most important. The guys had already gotten his cut together on all the jobs they had been dealing with.
"How have things been going?" Jax asked.
"They suck," Happy said.
They walked out to the barn to fill Jax in on everything that had been going on while he was inside. Dani started working on dinner for them all. It had to be a celebratory dinner since Jax was out now. He was going to be stepping back into his role as president which meant things should begin to iron themselves out and things would begin to go legit for the club. Jax was sticking with the escorts and porn for the club for a while. Guns were no longer an issue. Happy and Chibs had already gotten them out of them.
"Mommy," Donavan said.
"What baby?" she asked.
"Are Thomas and Abel gonna move out?"
"I don't know how soon they are going to be living with their daddy somewhere else but we will still see them all the time."
"We will?"
"Yeah, I'm still going to keep them while Jax is at work with daddy,"
"Oh."
Dani knew that the boys had grown close and she was glad that she wasn't going to have to explain why they wouldn't see each other anymore. She sighed heavily. The club members came in the house. Dani looked at her husband. He smiled. She looked at him funny. He put his arms around her and pulled her close to him. She leaned back into his chest.
"What's wrong, girl?" he asked.
"Nothing," she said.
"I can see it on your face, something's bothering you,"
She shook her head. He kissed the back of her head. She had made steak, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob. The boys were excited about it. She was thrilled about making them happy. She looked at her table of all the guys sitting and the boys scattered in between them and couldn't help smiling at the scene. It was the way it should be and she wouldn't have it any other way. It looked complete finally now that Jax was back.
"Daddy," Donavan said.
"What bud?" Happy asked.
"Mommy says she's still gonna watch Abel and Thomas."
"Yeah, that's right."
"Good."
Happy chuckled at the little boy sitting next to him. Donavan looked up at him.
"Daddy, I like my friends," he said.
"I know you do bud," Happy told him.
He knew that his son was upset about the boys leaving now that their dad was out of prison and not seeing his friends again. That was not going to happen.
"How have the calls with my mom been?" Jax asked.
"She's stopped calling now," Tig said.
"Good."
Abel looked up at his dad. He knew something bad had happened for them not to see their grandma anymore but he didn't question it. Jax glanced down at his son and smiled. Abel stared up at him.
"I'm glad it's all stopped," Jax said.
"Yeah us too," Dani told him.
She had been getting tired of the incessant calls from Gemma. She was the one who was always hearing them and having to ignore the calls. Gemma was not one to give up easily. The guys all got settled for the night while Dani did the dishes. The kids went to bed around 9pm. The guys were all out in the barn having church on how to make the most of their legitimate businesses.
"Dom, it's bedtime," Dani said.
Dominic rolled over on his bed, screaming and throwing a fit. Dani sighed heavily. She was really not in the mood to deal with this. Dominic sat up on his bed. Dani laid him back down and covered him up. He screamed louder and kicked the blankets off. Dani had been trying to get him to sleep in a toddler bed and he was having none of it. She sighed heavily. She wasn't planning on fighting with him about this. He had been sleeping just fine in this bed and now he was not thrilled with it. She wasn't going to bother her husband with it. The crib was still set up in the room. She scooped him up and put him in the crib. He screamed even louder. She turned and left the room. She checked on the other boys who were all sleeping already. Dominic was screaming in his room. She went to get her daughter while Dominic screamed it out.